(going Note: since the mods tend to edit out links to job ads on other sites, I should note that this ad is on a site that lets employs specify a preference for EU nationals, and nearly all postings for EU countries have them.)

My first thought was that maybe at long last the low pay relative to the cost of living and restriction to EU nationals in Western Europe is at last taking its toll. (Even marginally qualified Britons now seem to be ending up places where the pay goes further.)

But realistically sure they survive by paying their staff in gruel. They either get customers by being slightly cheaper than the next worst company, or by aggressive advertising. (I can think of at least one company that sells worthless crap by promoting the hell out of it. I'm sure you can too.)

It's easy enough to explain. They want a native English speaker to fill the position. Since there aren't that many in Valladolid, they may even pay decently. Who knows? Forget qualifications, experience and ability, it's the "nativeness" of the teachers that sells classes in academies here. Too many of the local English teachers took the piss a bit too often with their knowledge of English (and many still do -- there are loads of so-called bilingual schools around with teachers whose English is very poor or non-existent). The natural backlash is a rampant obsession with native English teachers to the detriment of many legitimately qualified and prepared non-native teachers in Spain.

I'm a native speaker and have to turn well paid classes away.
My Spanish girlfriend's a non-native speaker of English with a C2 level and many years of teaching experience. She's on the dole and can't find more than a few hours a week at academies even after mass-mailing her CV basically everywhere possible.

Grimace is right. Just look at all the ads on tefl.com for teachers in Spain. Every single one of them specifies native English speaker. Spaniards have been short-changed by poorly-qualified local teachers for so long that they are only interested in native teachers.

It's easy enough to explain. They want a native English speaker to fill the position. Since there aren't that many in Valladolid, they may even pay decently. Who knows? Forget qualifications, experience and ability, it's the "nativeness" of the teachers that sells classes in academies here. Too many of the local English teachers took the piss a bit too often with their knowledge of English (and many still do -- there are loads of so-called bilingual schools around with teachers whose English is very poor or non-existent). The natural backlash is a rampant obsession with native English teachers to the detriment of many legitimately qualified and prepared non-native teachers in Spain.

I'm a native speaker and have to turn well paid classes away.
My Spanish girlfriend's a non-native speaker of English with a C2 level and many years of teaching experience. She's on the dole and can't find more than a few hours a week at academies even after mass-mailing her CV basically everywhere possible.

That's Spain for you. Facepalm indeed.

Why aren't there that many teachers in Valladolid? Strange as there won't be any shortage in Madrid or Barcelona but there seems to be a fair shortage in other cities, Zaragoza is another city where there are plenty of jobs for native speakers - or so I have heard.

It's not so hard to figure out: Barcelona, Madrid and Malaga are just a direct flight away from the UK. Many teachers just get off the plane and start looking for a job. The result? There's a glut of teachers in these destinations, while schools are crying out for native teachers just a train-ride away from the airport. My own experience has shown me that nine times out of ten, better conditions are on offer if you just think outside the box and go that little bit further beyond whichever main terminal you happen to land in. Let's face it, Valladolid, Zaragoza, Bilbao, Seville, Granada and Cordoba are not exactly backwaters; they just don't show up on new teachers' radars!

It's not so hard to figure out: Barcelona, Madrid and Malaga are just a direct flight away from the UK. Many teachers just get off the plane and start looking for a job. The result? There's a glut of teachers in these destinations, while schools are crying out for native teachers just a train-ride away from the airport. My own experience has shown me that nine times out of ten, better conditions are on offer if you just think outside the box and go that little bit further beyond whichever main terminal you happen to land in. Let's face it, Valladolid, Zaragoza, Bilbao, Seville, Granada and Cordoba are not exactly backwaters; they just don't show up on new teachers' radars!

There are direct flights to many cities in Spain from the UK, so what you think is an obvious answer is not so. I don't know if you have ever been to Korea, Japan or China but you find native speaker teachers in small towns and cities all over those countries. And Spain is easier to navigate than somewhere like Korea so there must be another reason.

Good point, Revenger. There ARE flights from the UK to some of the other cities too. I've never been to China, Japan or Korea but a lot of the people I know who have been to those countries have been on internships, the TEFL equivalent of a package holiday (in the sense that everything is organised for them before they leave home, including their destinations, which may be further out of the way). Teachers who come to Spain, however, tend to organise things off their own bat and, I believe, often check out job opportunities in the cities where they land, at least as their first port of call, before looking further afield. It's just the impression I get talking to friends who teach in the bigger cities. I imagine far fewer teachers hop on a plane and 'doorstop' in China than do in Spain!

Why aren't there that many teachers in Valladolid? Strange as there won't be any shortage in Madrid or Barcelona but there seems to be a fair shortage in other cities, Zaragoza is another city where there are plenty of jobs for native speakers - or so I have heard.

Places like Valladolid are just not the typical destination that ESL teachers choose to live in, but as to why . . . Perhaps they're often perceived as being too provincial and small-towny? Perhaps many people outside Spain have simply never heard of them and end up choosing what they're familiar with? There are loads of nice places all around Spain where you could live comfortably and earn a living as a teacher that are largely ignored as work destinations with little competition for jobs.